| Dalunas18's Last Game Reviews |
S.C.A.R.S.
05-29-11 05:16 PM
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A Great Retro Racer.
S.C.A.R.S. remains one of my all-time favourite driving games. For me, it sets a lot of benchmarks for dynamic action racers, with its unique approach to car designs, environments and combat.
The highlight of this title has to be its soundboard, with great quality audio enhancing the atmosphere of the game immensely. Each track has a well-written, listenable theme, and the in-game sound effects consistently add to the experience. Iconic vocal tags are heard even at the menu screens. 'Choose your car', 'Choose your track'.
Graphically, S.C.A.R.S. may not be the cleanest title, but it offers unique vehicle and environment designs that are more impressive sometimes than others. Still, when the design is good, it is very good. The play on virtual racing lends the game a charming character, with the cars and tracks uploaded at the start of the race.
The game offers no particular story, but this is not expected of a racing title. Still, the experience of gradually unlocking more vehicles and tracks by beating championships and one-on-one races is well-done. With only 9 of each, however, and most unlocked at the start, S.C.A.R.S. is fairly light, and would not seem like it has much to offer; but it manages to challenge the player enough to overcome its shortness, without being unfair.
There is no real customisation offered to the player, which is a shame, as the only choice one gets is to set the race to night-time, to increase the difficulty. Nevertheless, the actual racing experience is accessible and great fun. Weapon pickups are not a unique concept, but the they are used well. The heightened sense of combat is especially rewarding in multiplayer mode, definitely the best facet of the game. My brothers and I grew up playing against each other, and S.C.A.R.S. was one we regularly returned to for a good racing challenge.
It is for this reason that I believe S.C.A.R.S. is a perfect candidate for a modern reboot. The concept could be expand... Read the rest of this Review
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Castlevania - Aria of Sorrow
05-29-11 11:39 AM
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An Excellent Hack n Slash Platformer
'Castlevania - Aria of Sorrow' is a very clean, well-made side-scroller. It adopts many of the conventions of its classic predecessors and adds enough that is original to create a thoroughly enjoyable Castlevania experience.
The game is set in the future, but sees its protagonist taken to the iconic, gothic setting of the previous titles. In the castle of Dracula, the player must explore the monster-infested halls and corridors of its medieval horror landscape. In this regard, much of the game's settings may seem familiar, but there is enough variation to leave the player with a large, expansive domain to work through, and many stunning environments to traverse. The underground caverns and outer gardens offer notable and welcome deviations from the dark, stone interior of the castle. All the environments are well designed, allowing for a fair and balanced mix of platform and combat action in each unique portion of the map. Indeed, the map is a crucial tool in navigating ones way through the game, but the locations resist labyrinthine repetitiveness.
For a game that basically comes down to 'jump', 'slash', 'run', the gameplay remains fresh and engaging throughout. The inclusion of the monster soul system adds a delightful element to the customisation of the character and his battling opportunities. Equally, collected souls become crucial to movement through the game. This helps balance the pace of progression well. It is a short game, but one can proceed at leisure, collecting the necessary souls and exploring at will.
The combinations available with the three part soul system invite the player to find and test as many souls as possible, to find the most useful for them in a given situation. Some souls are inevitably more useful than others, and a few will become prominent members of the player’s selection. Devoting time to consider tactics and combinations, especially for boss battles, enriches the game greatly. That said, sometimes - per... Read the rest of this Review
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